8 Lessons Startups Can Learn From Twitter's Chaotic Creation Story

Most startups will never see anything close to the amount of money Twitter plans on raising during its IPO this week (a reported $1.6 billion) and in fact, three out of four tech businesses fail. Entrepreneurs in training looking to create a successful company, then, might want to know what turned the 140–character sharing service into a viable business worth billions. For answers to that elusive question, Fast Company spoke with Nick Bilton, New York Times columnist and the author of the forthcoming book Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal. Nick BiltonImage via Twitter Bilton tells the tale of Twitter's founding, which he likens to a murder mystery. Nobody dies, he assures. But, as the title of the book indicates, the company had a tumultuous beginning. The four founders of Odeo, which turned into Twitter, started as friends. "As Twitter grew, the four founders fought bitterly for money, influence, publicity, and control over a company that grows larger and more powerful by the day," explains the book's Amazon page. Out of those ashes, however, emerged a service so powerful it can influence stock markets and revolutions alike. So how did the soon–to–be Twitter billionaires turn chaos into gold? Here are 8 tips drawn from a conversation with Bilton: Lesson 1: Mythical founding stories are just that: myths. "Founding a startup is actually very difficult–– a lot more difficult than I think we sometimes realize when we cover these... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'

[ Fast Company | 2013-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]

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